Show me some respect! Cut out all the cheap shots and remember what I taught you, Mourinho tells Villas-Boas

For Jose Mourinho the noise coming from north London on Friday morning was a question of respect. In Mourinho's estimation, Andre Villas-Boas has forgotten his manners.

Tottenham's manager has crossed an imaginary line, breaching Mourinho's trust by stealing his secrets and failing to show some appreciation along the way.

There was a sense at Chelsea's training ground that Villas-Boas should have left this playground squabble behind, or at least park it until Mike Dean has blown the final whistle at White Hart Lane.

VIDEO Scroll down to watch Jose Mourinho: I am not a kid

Worried? Jose Mourinho admits that Totenham will challenge for the title this season

It's a London thing: Jose Mourinho watches over training ahead of Chelsea's local derby with Spurs

MOURINHO RAMPS UP THE RIVALRY

Mourinho was also asked about
Sir Bobby Robson's influence on Villas-Boas at Porto, another source of
irritation for Chelsea's coach.

Villas-Boas often credits the former
England manager's philosophy, along with Guardiola's mantra to 'defend
the spectacle of the game' and rarely praises Mourinho.

The Chelsea
coach added: 'Where has he worked with Andre? I don't understand.'

But as a succession of coaches - from
Sir Alex Ferguson to Pep Guardiola to Tito Vilanova and now Villas-Boas
- have discovered, Mourinho always likes to have the final word.

'I'm not a kid - if I have something to discuss then we go upstairs, we have lunch and we speak about it,' Mourinho claimed.

'When people know me they can be very straight and very objective, but people shouldn't be wary of me because of my ugly face.

'It's a personal thing and I don't
care about what he says. I'm not interested. I would say 90 per cent of
the people who speak about me don't know me. The people who know me -
their opinion is respectful. If they shoot for a positive or negative,
they should make it public.

BUT WILL THEY SHAKE HANDS?

'The managers I don't know have no
credibility. If there is a reason I don't like another manager I prefer
not to say, but it's a question of personality.'

But Mourinho does want to know why
the man whom he set up for a life in management at the very highest
level after they worked together at Porto is taking cheap shots now that
he is manager of Spurs.

Making it Mata: Mourinho admits being impressed by the Spaniard's industry in the Capital One Cup

He has every right to.

The Special One launched
Villas-Boas's coaching career, taking him to Chelsea in 2004 where he
was appointed opposition scout until they split at Inter Milan in 2009.

Chelsea's manager wants this done
face to face, demanding an explanation mano a mano after he was accused
of suppressing Villas-Boas's ambitions to become a coach.

There is a question of trust and
loyalty, something Mourinho still values after working and learning from
some of the best coaches in world football.

No love lost: Jose Mourinho (left) and Andre Villas-Boas have been engaged in a a war of words

One of them was the legendary Dutch
coach Louis van Gaal, who was outwitted by Mourinho in the Bernabeu when
Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich in the 2010 Champions League final.

Mourinho added: 'I played in a
Champions League final (against Bayern) where the manager was somebody
very important in my career, somebody that gave me a chance to grow up
and teach me things.

'When I played him in a Champions
League final I did it in a professional way and he did it in a
professional way. That's the way you have to do it.'

Mourinho served Van Gaal during his
first spell at Barcelona between 1997 and 2000, soaking up the
knowledge and the appreciation of the game from one of the undoubted
masters.

The Portuguese coach gave
Villas-Boas the same opportunities, holding his door open at Porto,
where they won the European Cup in 2004, and Chelsea, where he became
the opposition scout.

Villas-Boas followed him to the San
Siro in 2008 and was wished well by Mourinho's coaching team when he
left to become a manager in his own right at Academica the following
October.

'Ask him, not me, whether I deserve
credit,' added Mourinho. 'I have had so many assistants in my career and
it's always an open book.

'I'm trying to do the same now with
Chris Jones (fitness coach) and to Steve Holland (assistant first-team
coach), people who are working with me for the first time. If they want
to read the book or not, it's their problem, not mine.'

Despite their differences Mourinho is
coming to terms with Tottenham's potential to play a significant role
in the destination of this year's Barclays Premier League title.

Tottenham have made a solid start, level on points with Arsenal and boasting a 100 per cent home record at White Hart Lane.

Better: The Chelsea boss insists Totteham are title challengers despite the loss of Gareth Bale (right)

Mourinho added: 'They are a big
contender. This season they have the same manager for the second
consecutive year and they were the champions of the transfer market.
They bought a lot of players, and all of them are international players
and players with quality.'

Villas-Boas knows that expectations
are high and Saturday's clash with Chelsea is a test of their progress
after a spectacular transfer window.

The Spurs coach added: 'The champions are struggling for points, but they have had a difficult fixture list.

'We are getting results and have not
had a blip that would disturb our confidence. We have solutions that we
probably never had before. With clean sheets there will be more
motivation.'

If Villas-Boas needs even more, he can always glance across at Mourinho.